The Lady of Shalott: insights gained from using visual methods and interviews exploring the lived experience of codependency

Bacon, Ingrid; McKay, Elizabeth Anne; Reynolds, F; McIntyre, A

Abstract

Codependency is a complex human experience with many meanings. The experiences of self-identified codependent individuals, who attend 12 steps groups are largely missing from the literature. In this article, we present how a combination of a visual method and interviews assisted deeper exploration and analysis of the experience of living with codependency, in an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) study.
A case example, entitled the ‘Lady of Shalott’, is offered as an illustration of the data collection and multilevel interpretative analytical process, highlighting how the ambiguity in the meanings of the imagery aided the interpretation. The case study, demonstrates how the visual method enriched the data collection and analysis process assisting the researcher to reach deeper layers of meanings, capturing a better understanding of the lived experience portrayed by the participant.

Citation

Bacon, I., McKay, E. A., Reynolds, F., & McIntyre, A. (2017). The Lady of Shalott: insights gained from using visual methods and interviews exploring the lived experience of codependency. Qualitative Methods in Psychology Bulletin,

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 1, 2017
• Publication Date: 2017
• Deposit Date: Mar 5, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 5, 2018
• Journal: Qualitative Methods in Psychology
• Print ISSN: 2044-0820
• Publisher: British Psychological Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Issue: 23 (Spring)
• Series ISSN: 2044-0820
• Keywords: Co-Dependency, Visual Methods, Interviews,
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/1076072